The Man in the Overcoat

My husband and I lived in a lot of apartments before we finally
bought our house. One of the strangest was a unit in what had been an
"apartment hotel" back in the 1920's, and then had become a flophouse in
the Depression. From there it became an SRO "single room occupancy"
building, and finally, just a place for the down and out to spend a
night indoors. Urban gentrification had brought the place back from the
brink, but some of the old tenants weren't notified!

Our place was quite small, but there was a tiny kitchenette with a
small stove, sink, and fridge. The area was closed in by a half-wall, on
one side of which were bookshelves. The sink was, to put it frankly,
disgusting. The pipes had not been cleaned, and every now and then it
burped up black water. Another strange thing was the distinct feeling
that someone was standing behind you while you were washing dishes. It
felt like someone was very close, and getting closer. But when you
looked, no one was there. One time I whirled around, and caught a
glimpse of a man in a long gray 1940's style overcoat, with a fedora hat
pulled down over his face. Then he vanished.

Now my husband was sort of a skeptic at that time, so I didn't
mention my 'visitor' to him. But when we moved out several months later,
he said he was glad we were leaving because the place gave him the
creeps. Then he asked if I had ever noticed anything while I was at the
sink...and I said "you mean the man?" And he said, "yeah, the one in the
old-time overcoat and hat." We had seen the same ghost!